It is the latest in a long line of disputes between the two companies. In July this year, the ITC ruled that HTC had infringed on two of Apple’s patents, as reported by Adweek.

Google had previously been criticized for not protecting Android partners against legal attacks, Bloomberg notes. But this intervention demonstrates the company’s increasing involvement in the smartphone arena.

Bloomberg quotes Will Stofega, a technology analyst at IDC, who describes Google’s action as “a bit of a game changer.” He said, “Google was interested in protecting its licensees with Android. It shows they need to support their customers in order to make sure the customers stick with them.”